Epson Colour Managment

[citizenthom]

I have a canon camera and an epson R265 Photo printer. I use the canon image editor "Digital Photo Professional" to print my photos and it gives me the option of what printer profile to use. Initially i selected the ICC profile that was supplied by Epson for the printer but i find it prints the shadow areas to dark and it seems the shadow are clipped.

I then changed the profile to sRGB and this produces better results, but does this mean i'm not using the full gambet avalible from the printer?

Anyone find the same problem with their Epson printer

[Colin Southern]

Hi Thom,

Printer profiles essentially standardise the capabilities of the printer / paper combination; so it's not so much a case of choosing a printer profile as it is one of choosing the right profile for that printer and the particular type of paper.

2nd thing to remember is that the supplied profiles are generic - they're designed for your model of printer and the paper specified, but not for your particular printer or your actual roll of paper. Normally they're pretty close, but they can give you a bit of varience.

If you're choosing the right profile for the paper your using - and the prints aren't coming out as you expect (especially with levels issues) - then it's most likely that your monitor isn't calibrated and profiled correctly. For example, if your monitor is too bright then a properly exposed image will also appear too bright - so you darken the image so that it looks right on the screen (which is really making it too dark) - which in turn is then how it prints.

As a starting point in colour management, I'd suggest getting a screen calibrator / profiler like a Spyder III and get that bit sorted first - and then work out what's going on with the printer. Using a wrong profile like sRGB is almost guaranteed to be limiting your gamut, but I think you've got bigger issues to sort first. Colour management is one of those areas where if you do it properly right from the start, your results will always be pretty good (including having a custom printer profile made) - but trying to do it by guessing and experimentation is probably going to mean your results vary from print to print, and you and up wasting a lot of ink and paper.

Does this help?

[citizenthom]

Hmm.

It is true that my monitor is not amazing. I have a laptop which is about 5 years old and the display has a faded edge to it. However, if i take a properly exposed image on my camera, checking that's it's properly exposed using the camera's LCD, and then print it without adjusting using the computer should this not eliminate any display errors? Doing this still produces dark images with clipped shadows.

I should also add that I have a CSI system and use unofficial ink whch perhaps could distort the preset printer profile.

[Colin Southern]

It is true that my monitor is not amazing. I have a laptop which is about 5 years old and the display has a faded edge to it. However, if i take a properly exposed image on my camera, checking that's it's properly exposed using the camera's LCD, and then print it without adjusting using the computer should this not eliminate any display errors?

Probably all this would do is "shift the balance of probability" somewhat. For what it's worth, when profiling printers and monitors, levels issues are often 9 parts monitor to 1 part printer.

I should also add that I have a CSI system and use unofficial ink whch perhaps could distort the preset printer profile.

Unfortunately, this renders any profiles supplied by the printer manufacturer completely null and void. The problem you'll face here is one of too many variables. Monitor variables - printer variables - ink variables - paper variables etc - you might get to the point where you get good results for some colours some of the time, but it's all likely to change with the next print you do.

If you don't want to spend any money then you could try any and all profiles that you can lay your hands on, but I suspect that it'll end up being an exercise in frustration if you're looking for a quality result

[Thetolleyman]

Trial and error often works best for me on color profile issues. I just print a couple 4x6 size or even smaller in several profiles, compare, and then choose. You won't have to do this every time you print of course.

Usually the profile created by my Huey Pro 1.5 looks the best. But different photo papers can change the outcome a bit too.